Tango Twist
by Jai Rose
Summary: Drabbles from my Story: Tango. Small portions of my story that I have written out, but didn't make the final cut or really didn't belong anywhere special. Character development. Bonus Chapters. Etc... Chapter 2: Of Cynical Happiness.
1. BulletProof

Hello everyone!

Jay Rose here!

This here is going to be my compilation of Tango Drabbles. I will at_ least two_ different Drabbles just taken from between Tango's first and second chapters. And many, many more! (Hopefully!)

For all of you who have not read Tango- it is not a requirement. It would be nice if you read it, though, so you can see where she is coming from. But it is not needed. I'll post a small summary for each Drabble.

**For you people just coming in:** Danni Fenton and Danny Phantom are two parts of one Halfa. They share a body. Two minds in one body can be hectic at times. Not only do they have to worry about working with each other to learn how to cope, they also have a surprise waiting for them in the form of Maddie's and Jack's ex-best-friend from college, Vlad Masters.

**Warnings:** Language. That is all.

**Disclaimer:** I own the idea of this story, and the ideas of the Drabbles, but I do not own Danni or Danny.

* * *

_Summary: This is set after Chapter 1 and before Chapter 2. This is the scene when Jack, Danni, and the ecto-gun are centered around. This is also the scene where Danni finally accepts Phantom for what he really is. **Her friend.** She also accepts Jack for what he truly is in her life. **Namely: Not her father.**_

* * *

**_Bullet Proof_**

-~DP~-**  
**

It was raining outside. Pouring cats and dogs respectively. Phantom didn't care one bit, and wanted to run out into the torrent more than anything in the whole wide world. Something about it being his first downpour. Which I thought was odd, because Phantom had lived for a century after his death- shouldn't he have seen some kind of rainfall during that time?

_:It doesn't work that way. This is the first ever **Halfa rainfall**._: Phantom snapped, getting irritable fast. Begging with impossibly childish voice, :_I have to fly.:_

I rolled my eyes. The novelty of having superpowers and a ghost inside your head wearing thin for me already. Then again, it hadn't been novel for almost two months. So the wearing had been a long time coming. Plus, there had been no ghost troubles in over four days, and the time doing nothing was making Phantom trigger happy.

_:Phantom,:_ I said, with the utmost patience. _:Dad is home. Mom is going to be home any minute. And Jazz is in her room, waiting for me to make dinner. They might actually notice if we go off flying. Don't you think?:_

Phantom grumbled, entirely too convincing as a two-year-old for being a hundred and sixteen. I shook my head. Phantom might be older, but he was clearly the more childish and more primitive of the two of us. His deep love of fun and obsession made sure of that.

"Danni girl!" I heard the booming voice of my father _after_ I heard his equally thunderous footsteps starting up the stairs. I had a small hope, still, in my chest that he was coming to see me. Talk to me- "It's already five! Are you going to get started on the pasta?"

Of course, food.

"The chicken is thawing, Dad." I called out a full five seconds before he crashed through my door. Exploding my personal privacy in favor of squeezing his bulk through the door. I was sitting by my desk, had been looking out the window, and was now currently swiveling to come face-to-face with his stomach.

"Oh." Was all he said, as he arrived with the most pathetic puppy dog face. As if someone had stolen his fudge. It tugged on my heartstrings and I felt the immediate need to do whatever I could to ease his suffering. Anyone watching a parent would feel that way, certainly? No matter the abuse level-

:_Danni_.: Phantom snarled, snapping me out of my slight mothering-daze. :_Don't you dare just let him walk all over you like that. Even I can see he doesn't care about you-:_

_:Can it Phantom.:_ I quipped right back, unease creeping into my stomach as I watched my father's shoulders slumped as he walked out the door. Phantom and I had had many conversations about my parents, and at the moment, neither of us was winning. Phantom talked about running, and I talked about staying.

That was that.

"Alright, pumpkin." Was the dejected reply from my father. He sounded like a kicked puppy. Sad and down.

I didn't want him sad. I was a child who wanted some love, not a sociopath bend on world destruction. Or bent on totally destroying Jack's life. I knew I was messed up. Seeing the person who had neglected me for most of my life, sad, made me sad. I didn't need a psychiatrist (or Jazz) to tell me that.

If only he started caring about me, I would probably lay down my life-

_:But he doesn't.:_ Phantom said, solemnly. :_Danni. He doesn't care. At this point in life, I really don't see how you can't see it. It's right in front of your face! He almost named you after Fudge. How the hell can you just see past that?:_

:_Phantom…:_ I said, sitting back in my chair. :_He's my father. I can't just… I can't just give up on what could be-:_

:_Yes. Yes, you can.:_ Phantom said, his tone spoke of finality. :_It wouldn't be hard. There are other people who care about you more than Jack does. Hell, Lancer probably cares more about you than Jack. And __**he**__ doesn't question when he sees Paulina walk out of the bathroom with you trailing as if you'd been a catfight.:_

"Danni!" My father's voice interrupted whatever argument Phantom had. "You've gotta come see this new weapon I just finished!"

Jack's voice sounded like a five-year-old with a new best friend, and I wondered how he had gone from happy-to-sad-to-happy in less than four minutes.

My heart instantly seized with terror, though, because Jack had a tendency to totally disregard all safety precautions with his weapons. Well, with anything really. Certain beyond words that his weapons wouldn't hurt humans. Which was true. They didn't hurt humans.

I wasn't _just **human**_ though.

"Maybe later." I called down, having to get up to start making my way downstairs anyway. There was only so much time a chicken needed to thaw. It had already been out an hour. I had to face the music in the kitchen.

"But Danni!" My father whined, as I stepped off the last step. He was right in front of my face in less than a second. "Just take a look at the Fenton Blaster-Ray!"

And I took a look.

And I almost threw up.

Most of my father's (and mother's) weapons used anti-ecto-power to power themselves. Every so often, though, Jack thought it would be a good idea to use the energy stolen from a ghost as a weapon, too. And that was currently in the little tank attached to the pistol like barrel. Basically. It was a gun, filled with blood, meant to hurt someone else.

It kind of reminded me of a gun you would see off an alien planet, but much too contemporary to be of any use.

"You used ecto-energy again." I said, instead of giving him any praise. I looked up into his eyes as I watched them turn flat and dead.

He sighed, as if he was going to impart some great truth on me. Or deal with a particularly unruly child.

"Danni. You've got to get over this..this-this aversion to killing ghosts."

I immediately bristled.

"It's not an aversion." I snarled, Phantom cheering me on in his own little way. "It's simply respecting their rights to live."

_:That's right Danni! Show your dad who's boss!:_

"Sweetie pie! They. Are. Ghosts!" Jack responded, looking disgusted at me. Not at my ideas, but at me. Like I was dirt. It was almost enough that it made me want to run away. Far away. But I stood my ground, like every time before.

"They are not just Ghosts." I said, pushing past him with my shoulder. The kitchen calling my name. "Have you ever talked to one? Asked them what they do? Why they do it?"

"No!" Jack said, vehemently, following me. "Why would I do that?"

His question was almost innocent. Like I had posed why he would eat dirt. Or throw fudge away.

"Oh, I don't know," I said, conversationally. I had arrived in the kitchen and I was now readying my supplies I would need for our pasta dinner. "Maybe because you've been persecuting them for so long that you haven't even given any thought to them. To what Ghosts really are."

"Pfft." Jack grunted, blowing a raspberry in my general direction. "Ghosts don't feel. Ghosts aren't alive. And ghosts most certainly can't have a real conversation with me, like you can."

_:Oh, the irony.:_ Phantom snarled. I agreed with him, chopping some of the chicken breast I had lay out.

There was no reasoning with Jack, so I decided that I would just ignore him. Most of the time, he got bored and walked away, trying to show his ghost-killers off to Jazz. She, on the other hand, had gotten smart and was able to have the most meaningless conversation with him, containing only 'oh' and 'ahh' from her side.

It was a small amount of something, but apparently it was enough for Jack.

"I haven't shown you how the Fenton Blaster-Ray works!" My father said behind me, and I internally face palmed, tensing also.

Jack hadn't hit me yet. Then again, he hadn't been aiming.

"I don't want to see your stupi-" I huffed out as I whirled around, just in time to see that Jack was doing that everything he had never done before.

He was aiming the gun directly at me. This crazy, fanatic gleam in his eyes.

"Watch!" he yelled excitedly as he shot it, point-blank at my chest.

It happened so fast after that.

Phantom took over my confused and slowed mind while I was still at 'Holy crap' stage. Taking action and jumping out of the incoming blast, we got clipped in the shoulder, still. It was better than being shot in the heart, or lung, though. When I touched the ground, I immediately looked back to see Jack looking disappointed. He was looking at the gun like it was a disappointment.

My shoulder stung like nobody's business, but it was nowhere near to how numb my heart felt.

_:He just-:_ I whispered in our mind.

_:I told you.:_ Phantom snarled, and I had to just catch myself in time to restrain him. _:I told you something like this would happen! I didn't think now. I knew it would be eventually-:_

_:No. Stop Phantom.:_ I said weakly, leaning against the wall for support as I rose on unsteady legs.

_:He just fucking shot you.:_ Phantom raged, his blood lust taking over. :He shot you. You're mine! I can't believe he actually would! Never mind if he truly believes that it would not hurt you! What the hell was he thinkin-:

Phantom did not stop for almost thirty seconds, but by the time he had started I couldn't stop myself some thinking-

_:holy crap. holycrap. he just. hejustshot me.:_

"What. The. Hell. Dad." I finally managed, through gritted teeth. My eyes tearing up, and I immediately tried to wipe them away. The tears were more emotional than anything. Phantom's fast acting healing already kicking in and dulling the pain.

"Oh. I didn't mean to do that. Sorry." Jack said, completely enamored with his weapon and trying to fix it. Never mind my shoulder being singed. Never mind the food laying on the ground. Never mind me.

Oh sorry.

Never mind the fucking world, because Jack Fenton has a new toy to be broken in.

I was seeing red, Phantom was now the one holding me back. Everything was red fire and it all hurt. My whole body felt like I was drowning and being burnt to a crisp at the same time. And it hurt. It hurt a lot.

What little denial I had had in my head was now gone. What little I had given Jack in the department of 'second' chances was dry. Dry as a well in a season of summer in Texas.

If Jack could shoot at me while I was still me, what else could he do? What else could I have to battle and compete with? What else would he be willing to do, to kill ghosts? What was I to a man who would shoot his own daughter?

:_Let's run away.:_ Phantom butted in, completely diverting my attention from the pain. It was still in the background. Debilitating as it was, I was holding onto Phantom as he tried to calm me the best way he knew how.

Run away.

_:Yes.:_ That sounded like the best course of action.

Looking up to see that my father had finally noticed me, I got up and walked out of the room. As slowly and as calmly as I could.

"Danni? Where ya going-" My father's voice- No. Jack's voice called out. He wasn't my father any longer. I refused to acknowledge him as such. I didn't stop until I was out the door, and then I was sprinting. I heard Jack behind me, saying something- but I was beyond caring. Nobody was outside, and I had to wonder if that was a small miracle or the world just laughing at my pain.

I allowed Phantom to take over from Conner avenue, simply transforming in some back alley before flying towards the park. His body felt like a protection vessel around my torn mind. It felt right to just hand the controls over to Phantom. Watch as the world flew by.

_:Can you not say I told you so?:_ I begged in a whisper.

_:I wouldn't do that.:_ Phantom retorted softly as we made it to the desolate park in less than five minutes, hid behind a clump of trees and just sat staring towards the sky.

It was dark. It was dreary. And I felt almost a kindred spirit with it.

It was still raining, but I hadn't noticed. The storm that it had once been was not any more than washed out and drizzly. It had died down, just like I had. In the shade of the trees, almost none of the water touched us, and when it did- it didn't matter because we were intangible.

Untouchable.

_:If we're so fucking untouchable,:_ I snarled inside our head. _:Then why does it hurt so much?:_

_:It doesn't always hurt.:_ Phantom claimed, tucking his hands behind his head as he stared up into the rain droplets. My first instinct was always to blink, but then Phantom would allow the water to run straight through his body. :_Not every time.:_

:_Then why?:_

_:Because this was personal_.: Phantom stated, and I knew he was right. But it just made it hurt even more. :_This wasn't just some random ghost fighter, attacking some random ghosts, and us having to pick up the pieces. This was in home, this was personal. This was wrong.:_

I found myself nodding, not quite reaching our physical body, because Phantom didn't follow along. He kept a strong hand on our body, not allowing the unstable human touching the reigns.

_:This sucks.:_ I whimpered, running a hand through my pony tail before clenching it between all five of my fingers. The pain was momentarily and brief, but it was a release of all the tension in my body. This was all metaphoric, but it felt the same as if I had done it physically.

_:Jack wasn't supposed to... wasn't supposed to-:_ Phantom didn't let me finish.

_:Life sucks. Death isn't so bad.:_

_:So we get the best of both worlds?:_ I asked sarcastically.

_:Yes_.: Phantom stated plainly, and for once, I listened. :_We also get the worst of both worlds. We get a heart that can be hurt, and we get a body that is hunted by everyone.:_

Phantom was an amazing person. I just wish I had seen it before this moment. Or at least, acknowledged it enough to throw my lot in, fully, with his. To see what the world could offer a ghost and a human, connected by a bond stronger than gravity itself.

_:I'm ready.:_

_:For what?:_ Phantom questioned, confused.

_:For freedom.:_


	2. Of Cynical Happiness

Hello everyone!

Jay Rose here!

Here is the second little drabble I had planned! :D I hope you enjoy.

It's just (almost) a character study of the both of them. Danni more so than Phantom, but hey! I'm not perfect. :3 I had this idea while actually writing chapter two, but I didn't think it really fit... So it's kind of a bonus chapter. Hehe.

**For you people just coming in (or just skipping around from chapter to chapter):** Danni Fenton and Danny Phantom are two parts of one Halfa. They share a body. Two minds in one body can be hectic at times. Not only do they have to worry about working with each other to learn how to cope, they also have a surprise waiting for them in the form of Maddie's and Jack's ex-best-friend from college, Vlad Masters.

**Warnings:** Language. That is all.

**Disclaimer:** I own the idea of this story, and the ideas of the Drabbles, but I do not own Danni or Danny.

* * *

_Summary: This is set after Chapter 1 and before Chapter 2. This is just a small little blip of normal life for Danny and Phantom. Only Danny asks a question and Phantom answers with memories._

* * *

**Of Cynical Happiness**

-~DP~-**  
**

_:Real.: Phantom confirmed._

-~DP~-**  
**

_:What does it mean to be happy?:_ I asked Phantom, one day, in early July. My parents had dropped the bomb shell of a 'family' vacation on us, and they were currently floating down a river of happiness (no doubt thinking it would pull their drifting family together). It was to come up in the next few weeks.

My parents were ecstatic about it. Very happy. I was not. Ergo, I wanted to know what it truly means to be happy.

Who better to ask than a dead guy?

_:I donno.:_ Phantom responded. _:And it's not like it's a cop out answer. I just think that the definition of happy changes depending on each person. Or Ghost.:_

I snorted.

_:Like?:_

_:Like you and me.:_ He said after a moment's pause. His voice impossibly quiet.

_:What about us?:_ I was curious and I pressed.

_:We've got our own definition of happy that most people would consider insane, or downright cruel.:_ Phantom responded, making me cock my head._ :I doubt most people are thrilled to be talking to the voice inside their head on a daily basis. Do you?:_

_:Probably not._: I agreed, quickly backtracking before Phantom could get a word in edge wise. _:That's different though. We're different… Isn't there some kind of universal happiness code of conduct?:_

_:What would that be called?:_ Phantom asked with a bemused snort. :_The Happiness Brigade?:_

_:Something like that.:_ I said, looking out towards the rooftops below us. We were currently sitting on the very top of the Amity Park Bank. A rusty old building that probably had never actually seen anyone but me on the roof since it had been built. It was a nice place to come and think while I was in 'human' form. It was also very easy to get to in Phantom form.

So it worked to create a place far away from memories, hurts, or worries. It was a place of neutrality. A place of newness. A place for Phantom and I. And I felt it every time I came here.

_:Life and death are pretty fickle, don't you think?:_ Phantom asked me abruptly, catching me in my daydream with a smirk. Or the impression of a smirk.

_:How so? Besides the obvious.:_ I asked, settling down on the edge of the building, knowing that when Phantom got like this- I was in for a long discussion. Which was not bad. Phantom and I… we agreed on a lot and we disagreed on a lot. The discussions helped cement who we were as people. As two different minds.

_:Well, life is a one chance deal. You lose, you blow it. But Death, it's like the ultimate gambler. He keeps playing, and losing, and playing, until finally- someone else loses. These days, it's an increasing number. Follow me?:_

_:I guess. Though your complex brain might be too much for this fifteen-year-old one to handle.:_

He snorted, before continuing. :_And death, sometimes when he wins- he doesn't really. I mean, look at the ghosts. Proof that there is a way to cheat death-:_

_:Been wondering about that, actually,:_ I interrupted Phantom. Asking something I had been thinking about recently, but never got around to asking. _:How do ghosts chose to become a ghost?:_

_:Passion.:_

I blinked. _:That's it?:_

_:Just about.:_ He stated, firmly. _:We come back for a reason. A passion. An obsession that we just couldn't get away from in our whole entire existences. Something we felt strongly enough about that the only way we could ever, possibly ever, get any rest would be to finish it. No matter the consequences.:_

_:Consequences?:_ I asked, a totally new concept to me. Phantom was carefree, what did he knew about consequences? _:What kind of consequences can there be for deciding to come back and finish the job…:_

Phantom snorted uncharacteristically cynically.

_:Because sometimes one instance isn't enough to satisfy us.:_ Phantom said, softly. :_Sometimes we have to keep living on if we miss our chance, and hope for some kind of redemption. A lot of the time, we go through our come-back lives as little more than solitary crazies. Or, like me, solitary junkies.:_

That didn't make sense. Phantom was possibly the most social ghost I knew, with exceptions to Fright Night and Walker.

_:I was not always like that…:_ Phantom explained, seeing the current train of thought running through my head. _:When we were merged together, I became a part of my human self that I had lost. I gained some humanity back, if you would. And I lost a little of the edge that made me a ghost first and foremost. That made my passion first and foremost.:_

_:You've never really gone into detail. What is your passion?:_

_:Running. Never getting caught.:_

_:That seems like an odd thing to be passionate about.:_ I stated, softly.

_:It is. And it is a hard obsession, because I do not just have that one. I have two.:_

This was news to me. Or was it? I couldn't seem to remember.

_:I run and I protect. Sometimes, the two needs and desires battle each other so fiercely that I can only do the easier of the two options. Run. Or rather, they used to.:_

I felt the oddest sensation like Phantom was looking at me, through my physical body. To me.

_:Somehow though… You've balanced me a little more.:_

_:What? Me? No way!:_ I spluttered, hiding my head in my arm crook in embarrassment._ :It was probably all you, and you've just changed me somehow.:_

Phantom chuckled darkly.

_:Doesn't work that way.:_ He stated. _:I remember what it used to be like… when I was a full ghost. Danni. I was a coward, but a brave one. I just could never stand up to my own obsessions, like I could to everyone else's. With you...:_

Phantom stopped in thought.

_:With you, Danni, I feel like anything is possible. Anything is within my power. I feel human sometimes. I feel my heart beat…._

_:Can I show you what I mean? Can I show you… the difference?:_

I hesitated to answer, because I knew that this would require a memory. A memory that I would be dunked in for who knows how long.

_:Five minutes, tops. I promise.:_

So I nodded, because Phantom's promises are legendary. Practically mythological in their consistencies.

It didn't take him more than a few seconds, which I had just enough time to sit down solidly on my butt and lean against the ledge, before he pulled me along into his head-

We were in an alley way.

It was dark. It was creepy. And it had a distinct New York feel to it. Old New York though, not new. The place was full of black and death.

I could feel all of this, and it was only a memory. How must it have felt to be there, for real?

Phantom was not with me, so I could not ask him. I was alone in his thoughts, because there was something about… well, it was complicated. Basically, he could not watch his own memories, because he had to be the one to supply them.

"Stupid Mia. Stupid Katie. Stupid Noel." I heard faintly from my right, down the other side of the alley. The one not facing the street. I turned just in time to see a very human guy walking down the alleyway. He looked so familiar. So much like the reflection I saw whenever Phantom and I flew over a large body of water.

This was Danny Phantom. As a human. Daniel. The one without a last name.

He had never shown me this before.

And as soon as human Phantom walked down the alley, he heard a shout at the same time I did. A small child. He immediately tensed up. His head whipping to the side to look down another cross-section alley that I could not see down. He was off running before his eyes properly widened in shock.

I was still frozen with how much Phantom had… well, not changed. His ghost form had white hair, and green eyes. The complete opposite could be said for this boy. His dark black hair was like mine in its consistency- if not a little dirtier- and his eyes were little jewels of blue. We looked like we could be cousins.

I heard another yell, this time from someone obviously not a child. I ran toward the alley that human Phantom had entered.

I turned the corner only to see Phantom-human slumped against a wall, with a small child huddled next to him. A dark figure of a man was retreating down the way and I was so shocked to see human-Phantom turn towards the child, tell her something, and then fade faster than anyone I had ever seen die. Faster than any other ghost I had seen disappear.

I had just witnessed Phantom's death.

My heart constricted with emotions as I was pulled from that memory into one very similar, but obviously different.

It looked to be the same alley, but I knew it was not. Everything had changed. The cobblestone of the floor was now cement, and it had a feel of almost twenty-first century to it.

In front of me, was a scene similar to the one I had just left. There was a woman being pushed against a wall, her purse yanked from her hands and tossed to one of the two brutes attacking her. She was pleading in broken English.

"Please- Stop." She sobbed as the men laughed.

I felt sick. There was also the coiling in my stomach signifying that a ghost was close.

And like that, Phantom was floating just behind the two brutes. Phantom had not changed a day since he died, which was not a surprise- considering he was dead. No. The surprise came with how young he looked. He flittered back and forth as the woman cried and was taken advantage of. I could see the glowing of Phantom's eyes as he physically fought with himself to attack the men.

I stared in shock as Phantom did something I had seen him do only in memories (like this one). Phantom turned and took off, running with the most split and heart breaking look on his face.

I could only stand and watch- listen more like, because the sound Phantom was remembering was fading as he ran. I half expected my heartbeat to be in my throat- but it was slow and steady. The image of the woman faded and darkness surrounded me.

The scene changed from Phantom flying away to something very, very familiar. It was the city of Amity. And it was dark outside. The stars in the sky were beautiful and twinkling, and I remembered this night. It was a good night. One of my favorites.

It was the night Phantom and I found the banks roof.

Phantom only focused on a few seconds of the memory. Maybe a minute.

We were flying. The air was clear, and our lungs were full. Phantom was laughing at something I said, when we heard a call for help from some ghost. Phantom wasted no time to turn and rush towards the voice.

It was only now, as I felt the memory slipping away and me coming back to the real world that I finally got the reason why Phantom got so ecstatic every time he flew towards danger- instead of away. Because he didn't have to be ashamed anymore.

The darkness closed in on me, signaling the coming back to my body and I awoke-

It was silent in the real world.

I felt as though I had left for longer than a minutes.

_:Real?:_ I asked, touching the side of the ledge I had leaned against it heavily.

_:Real.:_ Phantom confirmed.

_:Shit.:_ I said, blinking back tears. :_Phantom-:_

_:I know.:_ He cut me off.

_:I know.:_

And I promised to myself, then and there, with Phantom listening that I would do whatever it took to make him feel as welcome in my body as I was.

No matter how long it took.


End file.
